This invention relates to a pinch roll and shear combination for use in rolling mills, specifically for use with coilers on hot strip reversing mills.
In conventional continuous hot mills, a shear is located between the roughing stand or stands and the finishing train. When a hot reversing mill is employed in lieu of the continuous mill or the finishing train, a shear is likewise positioned well upstream of the hot reversing mill. With the advent of the use of coiler furnaces in conjunction with hot reversing mills, the location of the upstream shear has remained constant, with the upstream coiler furnace being downstream of the shear.
However, various advantages have been found for providing shears between a coiler and a roll stand, for example, the strip can be additionally trimmed at its leading and trailing ends after the finishing passes by the roll stand. The shear unit has been positioned on the pass line adjacent a pinch roll unit which precedes a coiler, as set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,497,191 and 4,494,395.
Pinch rolls are used in a number of ways on steel processing lines to control speed of travel or tension of steel strip. One such use is in conjunction with coilers. Examples of such pinch rollers are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,497,191; 3,613,426; 4,430,874 and 4,522,050.
These prior art devices provide bulky, cumbersome machines for pinch rolling and shearing of material being worked upon. The object of the present invention is to provide a compact, economical and efficient pinch roll and shear combination.